Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook

Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals presented his final State of the Circuit address during
the Circuit conference this month in Indianapolis, describing the federal appellate court for Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin
as perhaps the nation’s most industrious.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled on an issue that hasn’t been addressed by any of its counterparts nationwide,
finding that sentencing guidelines revised three years ago still only give District judges one chance to modify penalties
based on a federal criminal rule of procedure.

At a time when the legal community is caught up in controversies about how judges are selected and whether they can remain
impartial, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has weighed in on that national debate and ruled that states have the authority
to self-regulate on those issues as it relates to judicial canons.

In a securities-fraud case involving the Carmel-based financial and life insurance services company Conseco, a 7th Circuit
Court of Appeals panel has refused to significantly alter the class certification rules and throw out the long-established
fraud-on-the-market doctrine.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held today that a chargeback for the cost of insurance is not a sale of insurance, as some
owner-operators of leased trucks argued. The Circuit Court also took issue with the District judge’s decision on which
statute of limitations applied to the parts of the suit.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled one of its own decisions from 20 years ago, finding that judges have discretion
in whether penalties are imposed on those who steal encrypted television satellite signals or help others take them without
paying for the service

Six years after the city of Indianapolis amended its adult-business ordinances, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered
the District Court to hold an evidentiary hearing on whether the restricted hours in the new ordinance violate the businesses'
constitutional rights.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has kept up with a trend of publishing more written opinions than any other federal court,
and one of the most significant happenings in the past year is the recent resurrection of inviting lower trial judges to sit
by designation on appeals panels.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated today a man's sentence following a guilty plea on a child pornography charge
because it was unsure whether his previous conviction in Indiana for sexual misconduct with a minor should be considered abusive
and allow for his minimum sentence to be increased.